Eight Republican candidates participate in the first Tea Party Republican Debate Monday on CNN. Read the live blog below. Follow all the issues and campaign news about the debate on CNNPolitics.com and @cnnpolitics on Twitter. Watch the debate on CNN TV, CNN.com and mobile devices.

9:51 p.m. ET–Bachmann: Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution

9:51 p.m. ET–Romney: A bust of Winston Churchill.

9:50 p.m. ET–Perry: The most beautiful, most thoughtful, incredible first lady the nation has ever seen, my wife Anita.

9:50 p.m. ET–Paul: A bushel basketful of common sense. A course in economics.

9:50 p.m. ET-–Gingrich: Well, first of all, I would reduce the White House by kicking out all the White House czars the first day, creating a lot more space. And then, because of Callista's interest, we'd have a lot more music, because of my granddaughter, Maggie, we'd have ballet, and because of my grandson, Robert, we'd have a very large chess set. So it'll all come together.

9:50 p.m. ET –Santorum: We have 7 children. We'd add a bedroom, or bring some beds to the White House.

9:49 p.m. ET–Q: What would you bring to the White House if you were president?9:46 p.m. ET–@DWStweets Hispanic voters were sent a pretty clear message tonight about how GOP field feels about their priorities. #notwelcomehere #CNNTeaParty

9:44 p.m. ET–Huntsman: We are 10 years into this war, Sahar. America has given its all in Afghanistan. The time has come for us to get out of Afghanistan. We don't need 100,000 troops there when this nation needs to be built. When we start shining again, it's going to help the women of Afghanistan, along with any other NGO work that can be done there and the collaborative efforts of great volunteer efforts here in the United States. We can get it done, but we have to make sure that the Afghan people increasingly take responsibility for their security going forward.

9:43 p.m. ET–Q from audience: I was brought here from Ronald Reagan. I am from Afghanistan.
What will you do to secure safety and protection of the women and the children of Afghanistan from the radicals?

9:42 p.m. ET–Paul: As long as this country follows that idea, we're going to be under a lot of danger. This whole idea that the whole Muslim world is responsible for this, and they're attacking us because we're free and prosperous, that is just not true.

9:41 p.m. ET–Santorum to Paul: On your Web site on 9/11, you had a blog post that basically blamed the United States for 9/11. On your Web site, yesterday, you said that it was our actions that brought about the actions of 9/11. That is irresponsible. Someone who is running for the president of the United States in the Republican Party should not be parroting what Osama bin Laden said on 9/11. We are not being attacked because of our actions.

9:40 p.m. ET–Paul: I'm tired of all the militarism we're involved in and wasting this money. There's a lot of room to cut on the military, but not on defense. We're under great threat because we occupy so many countries.

9:39 p.m.ET–Q from Twitter: Do you believe in cutting military spending to balance spending? Or do you believe high spending is essential to security?

9:37 p.m. ET–Cain: Remove barriers by the federal government. I would start with an EPA that's gone wild.
9:37 p.m. ET–Q from Phoenix, Arizona: What will you do to ensure that energy independence will finally become a reality?

9:37 p.m. ET–@AnnCoulter I didn't mind the vaccine, social security is a ponzi scheme, but the illegal immigration issue is killing Perry.

9:36 p.m. ET–Huntsman: Fix Homeland Security.

9:35 p.m. ET – @PaulBegala: Boos for Perry & his DREAM Act for children who came to TX w/undoc parents. I'm beginning to think this crowd is right-wing. #CNNTeaParty

9:35 p.m. ET–Perry: This is a states' rights issue. And that was to give people the opportunity to go on to college and not be a drag on the system. It worked well and it works for the state of Texas.

9:34p.m. ET–Romney: The question was how to we attract Hispanic votes. And the answer is tell them what they know in their heart and that's that they and their ancestors did not come here for a handout. Of course we build a fence. Of course we don't' give in-state tuition credits to people who come here illegally.

9:32 p.m. ET–@PeterHambyCNN Bachmann & Santorum doing what they needed to do tonight: Not let up on Perry, stay punchy, be as conservative as possible

9:32 p.m. ET–Huntsman: For Rick to say that you can't secure the border is I think pretty much a treasonous comment. We can secure the border through the use of fences...we can get it done.

9:31 p.m. ET–Bachmann: That's not the American way.

9:31 p.m. ET–Perry: In the state of Texas if you're working and pursuing citizenship, you pay in-state tuition and it doesn't matter how your last name sounds.

9:30 p.m. ET–@rolandsmartin: Santorum wants English as the official language on what to do to attract Latino voters. Yep, that'll do it, Rick! LOL #CNNTeaParty

9:30 p.m. ET–Q from Twitter: What are the candidates doing to attract Latino voters?

9:29 p.m.ET–Perry says he has more experience than anyone else on the stage when dealing with immigration. Perry: 1200 miles of Texas and Mexico and our federal government has been an abject failure at securing our border. The idea that you're going to build a wall is just not reality. What you have to have is boots on the ground.

9:28 p.m. ET–Santorum: We need to build more fence, we need to secure the border using technology and more personnel. After the borders are secure, then we can deal with the problems that are in this country.
9:27 p.m. ET–Q from Cincinnati, Ohio: What would you do to remove illegal immigrants from this country?

9:20 p.m. ET–Bachmann: No state should be able to force anyone to buy anything. This is the election that's going to decide if we have socialized medicine in this country or not.

9:18 p.m. ET–Paul: That's what freedom is all about, taking your own risk. It's about individual responsibility. I've worked in hospitals, we've never turned anyone away. We should legalize alternative health care and allow people to do what they want.

9:18 p.m. ET–Q: If an uninsured 30-year-old has a serious accident, who would pay for treatment under your health plan?

9:17 p.m. ET–@murphymike: That screaming laughter you hear in the distant air is the POTUS doing a wild happy arm flapping super jig in WH while watching all this.

9:15 p.m. ET–Romney stands by his law in Massachusetts. Romney: I'm not running for governor, I'm running for president. On day one as president I'd repeal Obamacare. Says what he did and what the president did are very different.

9:14 p.m. ET–Q from Orange Park, Florida: What will you do to reduce the cost of health care?

9:12 p.m. ET–Santorum: What Gov. Perry is saying is he believes his policy was right. I believe it was wrong. This was bad policy and it should not have been done.

9:10p.m. ET–Perry: The company was Merck. The donation was $5,000. I've raised $30 million on my own. I can't be bought for $5,000. If you're suggesting I can, I'm offended.

9:10 p.m. ET–@rolandsmartin: Ooh! Bachmann went there! She is trying to tie the drug company with the vaccination in Texas to campaign contributions #CNNTeaParty

9:10 p.m. ET--Bachmann accuses Perry of benefiting from executive order in Texas

9:08 p.m. ET–Perry: If I had it to do over again (signing executive order requiring vaccine against cervical cancer in Texas), I would do it differently. But what was driving me was making a difference in young people's lives. I will use an executive order to get rid of as much of Obamacare as I can.

9:07 p.m. ET–Paul: They've been grossly abused by the administration for years. It should never be used to legislate. That's what is so bad.

9:06 p.m. ET–Q from Virginia: How frequently should executive order be signed?

9:05 p.m. ET–Romney: The idea of a national sales tax has a lot to go for it. It would make us more competitive globally and level the playing field in the country. But the way it's structured is a real problem, it lowers the burden on the very highest income folks and it hurts the middle class the most.
9:04 p.m. ET–Q from Cincinnati, Ohio: Would any of you be willing to support a fair tax?

8:58 p.m. ET–Bachmann: That's up to Gov. Perry. I wouldn't keep him as chairman. The federal reserve has a lot to answer for. They've got to be put on a tight leash.

8:57 p.m. Q: Do you agree with Perry, who came close to accusing Fed chief Bernanke of treason?

8:56 p.m. ET–Cain: Yes it should be audited. And I believe it's focus needs to be narrowed. I don't believe in ending the fed, I believe in fixing the Fed.
8:55 p.m. ET– Santorum: Yes. With respect to the last segment, what we need to do is have a pro-growth plan that can pass the Congress with Democratic support.

8:54 p.m. ET–Q from Gastonia, North Carolina: What is your position on the Federal Reserve? Should it be audited?

8:50 p.m. ET–Cain: Absolutely.

8:49 p.m. ET–Q: Can you be pro-business and pro-worker at the same time?

8:49 p.m. ET - @EWErickson: My big question right now: will Perry fade into the 2nd hour? He did last time. If not, he's locking in his front runner status.

8:48 p.m.ET-Gingrich: Go to the American people. Turn up the light on the people and they'll turn the light up on Congress. I'd be glad to work with Democrats in any office but I'd do it on principle, not on compromising principle.

8:48 p.m. ET-Q: Would you compromise with Democrats?

8:47 p.m. ET- Perry: While I've been governor, I've cut taxes. There are people coming to Texas because they know there's still a land of freedom in America and it's called Texas.

8:46 p.m. ET-Paul: Not quite. I'm a taxpayer there, my taxes have gone up. I don't want to offend the governor, he might raise my taxes.
8:44 p.m. ET- Romney: Yes. But if you're dealt four aces you're not necessarily a good poker player.
8:43 p.m. ET-Q: Does Perry deserve credit for jobs created in Texas?

8:42 p.m. ET–Romney: The world has changed. We've gone from a pay phone world to a smartphone world and President Obama keeps jamming quarters into the payphone...its not going to work, it's not connected.

8:40 p.m. ET–Bachmann: I was one of the only people in the country that said "Do not raise the debt ceiling." Repeal Dodd-Frank, repeal Obamacare, it's really not that hard to try, you just have to have the backbone to do it.

8:39 p.m. ET–Perry: People are tired of us spending money on programs we don't want.
8:37 p.m. ET–Huntsman: Reform the tax code. Second is regulatory reform. Businesses are saying there's no predictability. Third, energy independence.
8:36 p.m. ET– Q from Portsmouth, Virginia : what would you do to get the economy moving forward?

8:32 p.m. ET--Bachmann: Principles needs to change. For years politicians have run on the idea that government takes care of these things...we've been paying for the freight of all these things. We have to be an ownership society with individual responsibility.

8:31 p.m. ET–Paul: No. Cut the Dept. of Education, the Dept of Energy.

8:29 p.m. ET–Q: Would you work to repeal the Medicare prescription drug benefit?

8:26 p.m. ET–Gingrich: We need to cut government waste.

8:25 p.m. ET–Q from Pleasanton: What is your plan to balance the budget and get spending under control?

8:24 p.m. ET - EWErickson: I think having a #CNNTeaParty debate helps the candidates. Tonight they know who their audience is.

8:22 p.m. ET–Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum: Well, the question is who is with me? Because I've been out here talking about - you want to talk about courage to tell the truth, Governor? I was out in 1994 running against a Democratic incumbent in a campaign managed by James Carville, and I went out and talked about Social Security reform.
8:22 p.m. ET–Q:Senator Santorum, when it comes to Social Security, are you with Governor Romney or Governor Perry?

8:21 p.m. ET–Gingrich: I just want to make two simple points about Social Security and how you save it. The first is, you get back to a full employment economy, and at four percent unemployment you have such a huge increase in funding, that you change every single out year of projection in a positive way. The second is if you are younger - everybody who is older and wants to be totally protected, fine, no change. If you're younger and you would like a personal account, you would control instead of the politicians.

8:21 p.m. ET–Huntsman: I don't think anything should be off the table except the drama. To hear these two go at it...all I know is we're frightening the American people...the fixes are there.

8:20 p.m .ET–Texas Rep. Ron Paul: I agree that Social Security is broke.

8:20 p.m. ET– Romney: Governor, the term Ponzi scheme is what scared seniors.

8:19 p.m. ET Perry: The issue is are there ways to move the states into Social Security for employees or retirees. Rather than scare seniors, it's time to have a legitimate conversation in this country about how to fix the program.

8:17 p.m. ET Perry: If you're asking if they did the right thing 70 or 80 years ago, I'm not going to agree with that. But the question is do you believe it should be ended as a federal program?

8:16 p.m .ET–Romney: The term Ponzi scheme is over the top, unnecessary, and frightens people. He criticizes Perry's view on Social Security.
8:15 p.m. ET–Romney: The real question is does Gov. Perry continue to believe that Social Security should not be a federal program, is unconstitutional, and should be returned to the states?

8:15 p.m. ET–Texas Gov. Rick Perry: People who are on Social Security need to understand that program will be there for them. But the idea is we've not had the courage to look Americans in the face...look them in the eye and say this is a broken system...it's been called a Ponzi scheme by those long before me...but it needs to be fixed.

soundoff(2,499 Responses)

Anonymous

Can any of these candidates explain how they will keep jobs here when it is CHEAP LABOR and the burgeoning middle class in countries like India and China that propels American companies overseas. No tax break or cuts will make labor cheaper here.

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Diane

Jacob....they went to war in Iraq without any votes...it was a Bush vendetta.

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Harold Overton

Dear Candidates,

As president, would you enforce the 2nd Amendment as ruled upon in the Heller vs. District of Columbia decision, and stop local governments (New York, Wash DC, etc) to stop ignoring the 2nd amendment and allow all law abiding citizens to carry firearms if they choose to do so?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Kat

Cutting departments? What about cutting Congress and the President's salary?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Wyndbraker

To all candidates: Do you know how to use a Tele-Prompt-R, and how good are you using it as a "speaking tool?"

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Chris

As usual Paul is the only one not sidestepping questions and offering actual answers and solutions

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

nbgb

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right of me, here I am stuck in the middle.

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

TONY

would anyone acknowledge any of the true power players such as Bilderburg, Trilateral, or Illuminati is actually running things not just here in the US but around the world

What part of I pay for you and my son pays for me isn't a ponzi scheme? Social security sucks and because I can't say I refuse to participate, it is indeed unconstitutional. If I don't pay, I am a tax avoider and I face jail time. I don't want social security and I refuse to pay for it. My constitutional right! right??

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Sue

To Newt Gingrich:

You stated in your 2006 book, “Winning the Future”, that you supported nationally mandated health insurance. Does that mean that you support the Health Care Act of 2010? If not, then why?

To Rick Perry:

You supported the Trans Texas Corridor, but it failed. If you were President, would you push even harder to make this a reality?

You also signed a Dream Act type of legislation in the state of Texas. Does this mean that you would push for the Dream Act to pass at the federal level as Obama and others have been trying to do?

Your record shows that you signed an Executive Order in Texas to mandate that 12 year old girls receive the Gardasil vaccine which was later overturned by the Texas General Assembly. Does this mean that you do not have a problem with any President passing national laws and regulations that Congress refuses to pass by way of Executive Orders such as the Dream Act, Cap and Trade, or some other issue? Whether you do or not, then why?
To Romney:

Why do you think that mandated health insurance is okay for Massachusetts yet not for the nation?

To all candidates:

What is your position on the trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA? Do you support more of the same? If not, why?
Do you believe in the theory of Global Warming despite the fact that the reported data was manipulated? If so, do you support Cap and Trade or something similar?

To all other candidates:

We all know that Rep. Ron Paul has been trying to pass legislation to audit the Federal Reserve as well as Fort Knox for quite some time now. How important, if at all, do you feel it is to audit the Federal Reserve and/or Fort Knox?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Cynthia

Who will admit that there will be no change until you eliminate lobbyists?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Keith

This debate is all about who is going to take America closest to the Stone Age – nothing else...

in 2012, we Americans will prove that America refuses to go back to the dark ages – we will march forward: OBAMA 2012!!!

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Jim Pennsylvamia

which candidate is going to return the 180 billion back to the United States post office the polititans have been stealing for over three decades to spend on their own agendas !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SAVE the BEST public SERVICE in THE WORLD

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Robert Jackson

I would like to ask the candidates what they would do to protect the sanctity of life of the unborn if they become president.

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Pat Kavanagh

Would you guys listen to speaker Gingrich, and STOP FIGHTING EACH OTHER. THE ENEMY IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE !

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Anonymous

The results of a study from CERN was published in Nature recently that shows that half or more of global warming is caused by cosmic rays. What would you do to expose the myth of man made global warming?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Wade

So far, several candidates have been willing to say that future entrants to the Social Security system need to be able to opt out, and get individual accounts instead. However, none of them have spelled out who is going to pay the retirees in the middle. The current generation of retirees paid for the retirement of the prior generation, and someone has to pay for them. Because yes, it has always been a ponzi scheme, and it was destined to crumble when the demographic bubble burst.

So far, Senator Santorum (the frothy mixture of lube, semen, and fecal mater that is sometimes the result of anal sex) has been the most honest in his responses. Fortunately, the tea party audience is not in the mood for truth.

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

David Motola

HOW TO START EACH DAY WITH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK
1. Open a new file in your computer.
2. Name it Rick Perry'.
3. Send it to the Recycle Bin.
4. Empty the Recycle Bin.
5. Your PC will ask you:
'Do you really want to get rid of 'Rick Perry'
6. Firmly Click 'Yes.'

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Sandy Thompson

Given that Luke 3:23 states that world is only 6,000 years old. How would you change the science program in the nation's schools?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Kyle Gervelis

What is your opinion of Michael C. Ruppert?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Ryan

As President what would you do to help bring jobs back from China and other countries that continue to steal jobs from USA?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Tony

Tell all these politicians (minus Mr. Cain) that there "reform" of social security should include as part of the reform law that they stop raiding social security funds.

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

David

Would the candidates oppose Sharia law?

September 12, 2011 08:38 pm at 8:38 pm |

Don Carrel

If you want to get rid of "ObamaCare" .... what will you do to guarantee that people who have HIV/AIDS can get healthcare?